Predictive vpn bandwidth balancing based on weather data and social media sentiment

ABSTRACT

The disclosure is directed to a method for balancing VPN network bandwidth. A method in accordance with an embodiment includes: obtaining weather data and social media sentiment for a plurality of geographical regions; analyzing the weather data and the social media sentiment for factors that may influence network bandwidth usage in each of the plurality of geographical regions; predicting network bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality of geographical regions based on the analysis of the weather data and the social media sentiment; and balancing the network bandwidth among the plurality of geographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidth requirements.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to VPN bandwidth balancing, andmore particularly, to predictive VPN bandwidth balancing based onweather data and social media sentiment.

RELATED ART

The mobility of employees has rapidly increased with the implementationof bring your own device (BYOD) policies by employers. BYOD generallyrefers to the policy of permitting employees to bring personally ownedmobile devices (laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc.) to and from theirworkplace, and to use those devices to remotely access privilegedcompany information and applications. By allowing employees to accesscorporate systems from a multitude of devices, employees can beproductive without being tied to their office desk.

To access corporate systems, employees typically use a Virtual PrivateNetwork (VPN) to gain access to an internal company network. The VPNreceives all network traffic, and provides a secure gateway into thecompany network. As a VPN typically moderates all network traffic cominginto a company network, it requires a significant amount of resources inthe form of network bandwidth.

The amount of network traffic flowing through a VPN may varysignificantly depending, for example, upon how many employees are usingthe VPN at any given time. It is currently difficult to estimate howmuch traffic a VPN will receive in a given day for a given geographicalregion, making it difficult to allocate VPN bandwidth resourceseffectively.

To ensure that a VPN has adequate bandwidth to serve all users in allgeographical regions on a given day, real-time monitoring is often used.Such monitoring typically examines the amount of VPN bandwidth beingused in each geographical region. If one geographical region requiresgreater bandwidth resources, the bandwidth can be workload balanced bydirecting bandwidth from another geographical region that has less needfor that bandwidth to the geographical region that requires greaterbandwidth. One limitation of real time monitoring, however, is that onegeographical region must become over-subscribed (therefore providingpoor performance to users) before bandwidth balancing can occur.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the invention provides a method for balancing networkbandwidth, comprising: obtaining weather data and social media sentimentfor a plurality of geographical regions; analyzing the weather data andthe social media sentiment for factors that may influence networkbandwidth usage in each of the plurality of geographical regions;predicting network bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the analysis of the weather data and thesocial media sentiment; and balancing the network bandwidth among theplurality of geographical regions based on the predicted networkbandwidth requirements.

A second aspect of the invention provides a system for balancing networkbandwidth comprising: a data collection system for obtaining weatherdata and social media sentiment for a plurality of geographical regions;an analyzing system for analyzing the weather data and the social mediasentiment for factors that may influence network bandwidth usage in eachof the plurality of geographical regions; a bandwidth prediction systemfor predicting network bandwidth requirements for each of the pluralityof geographical regions based on the analysis of the weather data andthe social media sentiment; and a network balancing system for balancingthe network bandwidth among the plurality of geographical regions basedon the predicted network bandwidth requirements.

A third aspect of the invention provides a computer program productcomprising program code embodied in at least one computer-readablestorage medium, which when executed, enables a computer system toimplement a method for balancing network bandwidth, the methodcomprising: obtaining weather data and social media sentiment for aplurality of geographical regions; analyzing the weather data and thesocial media sentiment for factors that may influence network bandwidthusage in each of the plurality of geographical regions; predictingnetwork bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality of geographicalregions based on the analysis of the weather data and the social mediasentiment; and balancing the network bandwidth among the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidthrequirements.

Other aspects of the invention provide methods, systems, programproducts, and methods of using and generating each, which include and/orimplement some or all of the actions described herein. The illustrativeaspects of the invention are designed to solve one or more of theproblems herein described and/or one or more other problems notdiscussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the disclosure will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings that depict various aspects of theinvention.

FIG. 1 depicts a system for predictive VPN bandwidth balancing based onweather data and social media sentiment, according to embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a process for predictiveVPN bandwidth, according to embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative environment for implementing the presentinvention, according to embodiments.

It is noted that the drawings may not be to scale. The drawings areintended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and thereforeshould not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In thedrawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to VPN bandwidth balancing, andmore particularly, to predictive VPN bandwidth balancing based onweather data and social media sentiment. As depicted in FIG. 1, weatherdata 10 and social media sentiment 12 are used by a predictive analyticssystem 14 to predict the number of employees 16 that will be workingfrom home (or elsewhere remotely away from the office) in a givengeographical region 18 (e.g., geographical regions 18A, 18B, . . . 18N),on a given day, and to predict and preemptively adjust the VPN bandwidthprovided to each geographical region 18 accordingly.

A VPN provider 20 may use VPN adjustment data 22 output by thepredictive analytics system 14 to balance the VPN bandwidth 24 allocatedto each of the regions 18A, 18B, . . . 18N by the VPN provider 20 beforebandwidth issues occur in any of the regions 18A, 18B, . . . 18N.Weather data 10 and social media sentiment 12 are analyzed by thepredictive analytics system 14 to provide the VPN adjustment data 22 forallocation of the VPN bandwidth 24. Non-weather factors that mayinfluence bandwidth usage may be determined by analyzing the socialmedia sentiment. Such non-weather factors may include, but are notlimited to, traffic problems, school closures, employee vacation,in-office meetings, and/or the like.

The present invention employs predictive analytics to determine thelikelihood that employees will be working from home or from anotherlocation outside their office, and therefore using VPN networkbandwidth. VPN bandwidth demand is divided into geographical regions,wherein a geographical region may include a district, city, region,country, or any other geographical area. For each geographical region,the amount of required VPN network traffic is predicted using aplurality of factors, including:

-   A) Weather data for the geography—e.g., adverse weather (such as a    snow storm, hurricane, etc.). Historically there is a correlation    between adverse weather and an increase in VPN bandwidth usage as    more employees choose to work from home.-   B) Social media sentiment—the social media activity of employees on    networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, IBM Connections,    and/or the like can indicate the intentions of employees as to    whether they will work from home or visit the office. For example,    social media sentiment indicating adverse weather, school closures,    or traffic problems (e.g., accidents, road construction, railway    closures, etc.) typically increases the likelihood of an employee    working from home. In addition, social media sentiment indicating,    for example, vacations or in-office meetings may affect the    likelihood of employees working in the office.

The predictive analytics system 14 weighs and scores these factors,generating the VPN adjustment data 22, to predict the number of VPNusers (and thus the VPN bandwidth 24) in a given time frame for a givengeographical region 18. The VPN bandwidth 24 can then be balancedaccordingly, based on the VPN adjustment data 22, between geographicalregions 18 to ensure that geographical regions that have a highpredicted VPN usage are given sufficient resources to satisfy theanticipated VPN network bandwidth demand.

The present invention introduces a process for improving the workloadbalancing of VPN network bandwidth through prediction ahead of time,allowing a VPN provider to prepare accordingly. This is preferable toreal time monitoring which is a reactive method of balancing workload,requires constant monitoring and adjustment, and leads to higher expenseas the workload is continually balanced to meet real time demand.

The predictive analytics system 14 of the present invention uses weatherdata 10 and social media sentiment 12 to estimate VPN network bandwidthacross geographical regions. Other possible applications of the presentinvention may include, for example, determining attendance at eventsthat require travel and in-person attendance such as outdoor sportingevents and concerts.

In an embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the predictive analyticssystem 14 includes a data gathering stage, a prediction stage, and aworkload balancing stage. Each of these stages is described in greaterdetail below.

Data gathering Stage

Process A1: For each geographical region 18, weather data 10 (e.g.,online weather reports from the National Weather Service, local weatherreports available online, and/or any other source of weather data), isobtained and analyzed for a given day by the predictive analytics system14, looking for adverse weather conditions that may affect travel.

Process A2: The social media networks of employees 16 in eachgeographical region 18 are analyzed by the predictive analytics system14 for social media sentiment 12 to determine the likelihood that anemployee 16 will work from home or from the office. This may include,for example, status updates from publically available social networkssuch as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and status updates on internalsocial networks such as IBM Connections. The analysis of these socialnetworks looks for factors including, but not limited to, schoolclosures (e.g., obtained directly from school websites, school closurewebsites, etc.), traffic problems, road construction, indication ofbeing on vacation, indication of in-office meetings, sickness, etc.Employees' calendars can be mined to obtain vacation data.

Prediction Stage

Process B1: The weather data 10 and social media sentiment 12 gatheredin Process A1 and Process A2 for each geographical region 18 areweighted by the predictive analytics system 14 to reflect, based on pastVPN bandwidth usage and/or requirements under similar conditions, therelative effect that different types of weather data 10 and social mediasentiment 12 may have on VPN bandwidth allocation. Such historical VPNusage data can be obtained and stored by the predictive analytics system14. The weighting may be provided, for example, using a predictiveanalytics system 14 such as Smart Cloud Predictive Insights availablefrom IBM. For example, adverse weather such as a snowstorm may be givena higher weight that that given to a traffic jam, since a snowstormwould likely cause more employees to work at home, thereby greatlyincreasing the VPN bandwidth required by the employees.

Process B2: The weighted weather data 10 and weighed social mediasentiment 12 provided in Process B1 for each geographical region 18 areassigned a score by the predictive analytics system 14. In anembodiment, a positive score may be used to indicate an increasedlikelihood of VPN usage (e.g., a snowstorm may be assigned a score of+150, while a traffic jam may be assigned a lower score of +50).Similarly, a negative score may be used to indicate a decreasedlikelihood of VPN usage (e.g., all employees are attending an in-officemeeting). The scores for each geographical region 18 are combined (e.g.,added together, averaged, and/or the like) to provide an indication ofthe expected level of VPN network bandwidth activity for eachgeographical region 18, and are used to provide the VPN provider 20 withcorresponding VPN adjustment data 22. The types of weighting and scoringdescribed above in Process B1 and B2 are provided for illustrativepurposes only, and are not intended to be limiting in any manner.

Workload Balancing Stage

In Process C1, the scores provided in Process B2 for each geographicalregion 18 are compared by the predictive analytics system 14. As anexample, referring again to FIG. 1, assume that the scores provided inProcess B2 for each of the geographical regions 18A, 18B, 18C aredetermined to be as follows by the predictive analytics system 14(higher scores indicating a greater need for additional VPN bandwidth):

-   Geographical region 18A: 50;-   Geographical region 18B: 150; and-   Geographical region 18C: −100.-   Thus, based on the scores, it is apparent that geographic regions    18A and 18B require additional VPN bandwidth, while geographic    region 18C does not require additional VPN bandwidth.

In this example, before VPN bandwidth balancing is performed by thepredictive analytics system 14 in accordance with the present invention,the geographical regions 18A, 18B, 18C are assigned the following numberof VPN connections (assuming a total VPN bandwidth 24 of 900 VPNconnections):

-   Geographical region 18A: 300 VPN connections;-   Geographical region 18B: 200 VPN connections; and-   Geographical region 18C: 200 VPN connections.-   A reserve of 200 VPN connections is set aside for VPN bandwidth    balancing.

In Process C2, the VPN connections held in reserve are allocated by thepredictive analytics system 14 to the various geographical regions 18based on the comparison performed in Process C1. Continuing the aboveexample, the reserve of 200 VPN connections may be allocated as followsto each of the geographic regions 18:

-   Geographical region 18A: 350 VPN connections (increase of 50 VPN    connections);-   Geographical region 18B: 350 VPN connections (increase of 150 VPN    connections); and-   Geographical region 18C: 200 VPN connections (no increase).-   Thus, geographical region 18B is allocated the highest number of the    reserve VPN connections, followed by geographical region 18A, while    geographical region 18C did not receive any reserve VPN connections.

Alternatively, to balance the VPN bandwidth 24, the existing number ofVPN connections assigned to each geographic region 18 may be adjustedaccordingly (e.g., in the case that there are no VPN connections held inreserve). As depicted in FIG. 2, in Process C2′, the VPN connections maybe reallocated by the predictive analytics system 14 to the variousgeographical regions 18 based on the comparison performed in Process C1.For example, given the scores presented in the above example, the VPNconnections may be reallocated by the predictive analytics system 14 asfollows (assuming a total existing VPN bandwidth 24 of 700 VPNconnections):

-   Region 18A: 325 VPN connections (increase of 25 VPN connections);-   Region 18B: 275 VPN connections (increase of 75 VPN connections);    and-   Region 18C: 100 VPN connections (decrease of 100 VPN connections).-   A combination of the allocation of reserve VPN connections and the    reallocation of existing VPN connections may also be used to balance    the number of VPN connections provided to each of the various    geographical regions 18.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

While it is understood that the program product of the present inventionmay be manually loaded directly in a computer system via a storagemedium such as a CD, DVD, etc., the program product may also beautomatically or semi-automatically deployed into a computer system bysending the program product to a central server or a group of centralservers. The program product may then be downloaded into clientcomputers that will execute the program product. Alternatively theprogram product may be sent directly to a client system via e-mail. Theprogram product may then either be detached to a directory or loadedinto a directory by a button on the e-mail that executes a program thatdetaches the program product into a directory. Another alternative is tosend the program product directly to a directory on a client computerhard drive.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative computing system 100 for implementing thepresent invention, according to embodiments. The computing system 10 maycomprise any type of computing device and, and for example includes atleast one processor, memory, an input/output (I/O) (e.g., one or moreI/O interfaces and/or devices), and a communications pathway. Ingeneral, processor(s) execute program code, such as predictive analyticssystem 14, which is at least partially fixed in memory. While executingprogram code, processor(s) can process data, which can result in readingand/or writing transformed data from/to memory and/or I/O for furtherprocessing. The pathway provides a communications link between each ofthe components in computing system 100. I/O can comprise one or morehuman I/O devices, which enable a user to interact with computing system100.

Technical effects of the systems and methods disclosed herein includebalancing network bandwidth by predicting network bandwidth requirementsfor each of a plurality of geographical regions based on an analysis ofweather data and the social media sentiment. The embodiments discussedherein can allow hardware, software, and/or combinations thereof toautomatically balance network bandwidth without intervention from ahuman user. In addition, the embodiments discussed herein can ensurethat a VPN has adequate bandwidth to serve all users in all geographicalregions during a given time period.

The various embodiments discussed herein can offer several technical andcommercial advantages, some of which are discussed herein by way ofexample. Embodiments of the present disclosure can eliminate thedeficiencies suffered by the reactive network bandwidth balancingtechniques employed by the prior art. Furthermore, embodiments of themethod discussed herein can be used to automatically balance networkbandwidth to minimize the over/under subscribing of network resources.

The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations arepossible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to anindividual skilled in the art are included within the scope of theinvention as defined by the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for balancing network bandwidth,comprising: obtaining weather data and social media sentiment for aplurality of geographical regions; analyzing the weather data and thesocial media sentiment for factors that may influence network bandwidthusage in each of the plurality of geographical regions; predictingnetwork bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality of geographicalregions based on the analysis of the weather data and the social mediasentiment; and balancing the network bandwidth among the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidthrequirements.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network comprises aVirtual Private Network (VPN).
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thebalancing the network bandwidth further comprises balancing a number ofVPN connections among the plurality of geographical regions based on thepredicted network bandwidth requirements.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the balancing the number of VPN connections among the pluralityof geographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidthrequirements further comprises: assigning reserve VPN connections to atleast one of the plurality of geographical regions based on thepredicted network bandwidth requirements; and/or reallocating existingVPN connections among the plurality of geographical regions based on thepredicted network bandwidth requirements.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the predicting network bandwidth requirements for each of theplurality of geographical regions further comprises: assigning a weightto the weather data and the social media sentiment based on past networkbandwidth usage; and assigning a score to the weighted weather data andthe weighted social media sentiment based on past network bandwidthusage.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the predicting networkbandwidth requirements further comprises: comparing the scores for eachof the plurality of geographical regions; and balancing the networkbandwidth among the plurality of geographical regions based on thecomparison.
 7. A system for balancing network bandwidth, comprising: adata collection system for obtaining weather data and social mediasentiment for a plurality of geographical regions; an analyzing systemfor analyzing the weather data and the social media sentiment forfactors that may influence network bandwidth usage in each of theplurality of geographical regions; a bandwidth prediction system forpredicting network bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the analysis of the weather data and thesocial media sentiment; and a network balancing system for balancing thenetwork bandwidth among the plurality of geographical regions based onthe predicted network bandwidth requirements.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the network comprises a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the balancing the network bandwidth furthercomprises balancing a number of VPN connections among the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidthrequirements.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the balancing thenumber of VPN connections among the plurality of geographical regionsbased on the predicted network bandwidth requirements further comprises:assigning reserve VPN connections to at least one of the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidthrequirements; and/or reallocating existing VPN connections among theplurality of geographical regions based on the predicted networkbandwidth requirements.
 11. The system of claim 7, wherein thepredicting network bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality ofgeographical regions further comprises: assigning a weight to theweather data and the social media sentiment based on past networkbandwidth usage; and assigning a score to the weighted weather data andthe weighted social media sentiment based on past network bandwidthusage.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the predicting networkbandwidth requirements further comprises: comparing the scores for eachof the plurality of geographical regions; and balancing the networkbandwidth among the plurality of geographical regions based on thecomparison.
 13. A computer program product comprising program codeembodied in at least one computer-readable storage medium, which whenexecuted, enables a computer system to implement a method for balancingnetwork bandwidth, the method comprising: obtaining weather data andsocial media sentiment for a plurality of geographical regions;analyzing the weather data and the social media sentiment for factorsthat may influence network bandwidth usage in each of the plurality ofgeographical regions; predicting network bandwidth requirements for eachof the plurality of geographical regions based on the analysis of theweather data and the social media sentiment; and balancing the networkbandwidth among the plurality of geographical regions based on thepredicted network bandwidth requirements.
 14. The computer programproduct of claim 13, wherein the network comprises a Virtual PrivateNetwork (VPN).
 15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein thebalancing the network bandwidth further comprises balancing a number ofVPN connections among the plurality of geographical regions based on thepredicted network bandwidth requirements.
 16. The computer programproduct of claim 15, wherein the balancing the number of VPN connectionsamong the plurality of geographical regions based on the predictednetwork bandwidth requirements further comprises: assigning reserve VPNconnections to at least one of the plurality of geographical regionsbased on the predicted network bandwidth requirements; and/orreallocating existing VPN connections among the plurality ofgeographical regions based on the predicted network bandwidthrequirements.
 17. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein thepredicting network bandwidth requirements for each of the plurality ofgeographical regions further comprises: assigning a weight to theweather data and the social media sentiment based on past networkbandwidth usage; and assigning a score to the weighted weather data andthe weighted social media sentiment based on past network bandwidthusage.
 18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein thepredicting network bandwidth requirements further comprises: comparingthe scores for each of the plurality of geographical regions; andbalancing the network bandwidth among the plurality of geographicalregions based on the comparison.